Abstract
Mechanisms involved in the reception of gain-framed messages (Rothman & Salovey, 1997) are still relatively unknown (Gallagher & Updegraff, 2012). One mechanism that may influence how messages are received and translated into behaviour change is hoped-for possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986). This experiment examined the possibility that an online gain-framed message video that highlighted nine benefits of adult sport participation (Young & Medic, 2011) may elicit hoped-for possible selves regarding future sport behaviours. 182 participants aged 40 to 59 (M = 50.9, SD = 5.4) were randomly assigned to watch either the video (experimental) or complete a physical activity quiz (control). Afterwards, participants were asked if their respective task activated a sport hoped-for possible self, and they described aspects of the possible self in writing. Descriptive responses were analyzed qualitatively to determine whether participants identified a possible self, and to enumerate meaning units (Tesch, 1990) within the descriptions. Results revealed that the experimental group more frequently described a possible self than the control group, χ2(1, N = 176) = 9.1, p = .003, phi = .24. Meaning unit analyses showed that the experimental group elaborated more on their possible selves, t(94) = 3.1, p = .003, η2 = .09, and also included more meaning units relating to the delay of aging, χ2(1, N = 96) = 4.6, p = .03, phi = .26, and social factors, χ2(1, N = 96) = 4.6, p = .03, phi = .24, in their possible self descriptions in comparison with the control group.
